阅读说明：本技术 弹簧束的抗噪声元件 (Anti-noise element for a spring bundle ) 是由 D·富尔塔多 M·多斯桑托斯 R·G·马尼尼 于 2020-03-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：抗噪声元件(EAR)用于将弹簧束(FM)的重叠且相邻的每两个弹簧片(LM)的端部分开,并且,该抗噪声元件包括由聚酰胺11热塑性树脂的涂层(20)覆盖的金属板(10),该金属板包含中间凸起(12),所述中间凸起要被装配并保持在设置在弹簧片(LM)的端部中的相应孔(F)中,抗噪声元件(EAR)抵靠所述弹簧片的端部安置和保持。(The anti-noise Element (EAR) is intended to separate the ends of each two overlapping and adjacent leaf springs (LM) of the spring bundle (FM) and comprises a metal plate (10) covered by a coating (20) of polyamide 11 thermoplastic resin, which contains intermediate projections (12) intended to be fitted and retained in respective holes (F) provided in the ends of the leaf springs (LM) against which the anti-noise Element (EAR) is seated and retained.)

1. An anti-noise element for a spring bundle of the type formed by a set of spring strips (LM) mounted one above the other and the ends of each two adjacent spring strips (LM) being separated by a respective anti-noise Element (EAR), said anti-noise element being characterized in that: the anti-noise element comprises a metal plate (10) having a width adjusted according to the total width of the spring bundle (FM) and a length such as to prevent direct contact between the overlapping portions of the ends of two adjacent spring strips (LM), the metal plate (10) being covered by a coating (20) of thermoplastic polyamide 11 resin and containing intermediate projections (12) to be fitted and retained in respective holes (F) provided in the ends of the spring strips (LM) against which the anti-noise Element (EAR) is seated and retained.

2. The anti-noise element according to claim 1, characterized in that said coating (20) is defined by a polyamide 11 resin layer, said coating having a thickness of 0.01mm to 2.00 mm.

3. Anti-noise element according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the thickness of said metal plate (10) is less than the thickness of said spring plate (LM).

4. An antinoise element according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the intermediate projection (12) of the metal sheet (10) is defined by an intermediate pull (11) in the metal sheet.

5. The anti-noise element according to claim 4, characterized in that the intermediate relief (12) formed by the intermediate piece (11) is defined by a pair of parallel ribs (12a) spaced from each other, arranged in the longitudinal direction of the spring bundle (FM) and fitted into holes (F) of the ends of the respective leaf springs (LM).

6. An antinoise element according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that said metal plate (10) includes, at each longitudinal edge thereof, a flank (15) which rests against an adjacent side edge of a leaf spring (LM) located directly above or below in a spring bundle (FM).

7. Anti-noise element according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the entire metal sheet (10) including the intermediate reliefs (12) and possibly the upper flanks (15) is covered with a coating (20) of polyamide 11.

Technical Field

The present invention essentially relates to an element positioned between the leaves of a spring bundle, which is generally applied to the suspensions of vehicles and road vehicles (generally freight or passenger vehicles), to reduce or even eliminate the noise generated by the frictional movement between adjacent leaves of the spring bundle when the suspension is in operation during the travel of the vehicle.

Background

Spring bundles for application to road vehicles are known in the prior art and each spring bundle comprises an assembly of spring leaves of equal or different length, which are mounted one above the other and which bend together in reaction to a load exerted on the spring leaves.

The leaf springs of these widely used spring bundles have the drawback of producing loud and unpleasant noise in the frictional movement of the adjacent leaf springs when the adjacent leaf springs of each bundle bend under the different loads exerted on them by the moving vehicle. Such a drawback is particularly unpleasant for the vehicle occupants.

According to one of the known structural solutions of these noise-cancelling elements, each element is formed by a plate or blade having a generally rectangular and/or circular profile, each element is made of polymeric material and/or compounded rubber, with or without reinforcing additives in the composition of each element, and each element exhibits a width adjusted according to the width of the leaf springs of the bundle of springs and an extension in the longitudinal direction of the bundle of springs just sufficient to prevent direct contact between the ends of each two adjacent leaf springs of the bundle of springs. Each element comprises at least one protrusion to be fitted into a corresponding hole provided in an adjacent leaf spring of each pair of leaf springs to be separated by the anti-noise element, to ensure correct positioning of the elements in the spring bundle.

These elements with anti-noise function made of polymeric material and/or compounded rubber have a limited service life, since said material runs off or wears due to the work load and/or friction to which they are subjected until an operational failure of these elements occurs, which may lead to the release of the anti-noise elements of the spring bundle or to the displacement of the anti-noise elements between the two leaf springs towards the central region of the leaf springs, which may lead to a premature breakage of the leaf springs of the spring bundle. The anti-noise element loses its function in both of the above-mentioned faults.

In another known construction of the anti-noise elements, each anti-noise element is constituted by a metal plate or sheet having a composite rubber layer bonded, vulcanized or otherwise suitably bonded to its upper surface, the metal plate or sheet having at its lower surface at least one lower positioning projection, also usually metallic, for example a stud, to be fitted and locked into a corresponding hole provided in the lower leaf spring of each pair of leaf springs to be separated by the anti-noise element. The composite element also has a width adjusted according to the width of the leaf springs of the spring bundle and a longitudinal extension just sufficient to prevent direct contact between the ends of each two adjacent leaf springs of the spring bundle.

These elements, formed of sheet metal and with rubber pads, also have a limited service life due to frictional wear and the work load to which the rubber pads are subjected. Furthermore, these rubber-cushioned elements are typically retained in the spring bundle by studs and nuts, requiring longer production times and increasing the production costs associated with the polymer anti-noise element.

Patent document PI0503283-0 discloses another known configuration. In this example, each anti-noise element comprises a rectangular steel sheet of reduced thickness and of width and length corresponding to the width and length of two adjacent spring leaves of the spring bundle between which the element is to be mounted. Each anti-noise element is coated, at least at its ends, with a layer of elastomeric material, preferably defined as vulcanized rubber, but which can also be made of various synthetic or natural materials. The anti-noise element may be in the form of a smooth metal sheet that is held in place in the spring bundle by a common pin or central rod that passes through all of the spring sheets and also by a common retaining clip disposed in the spring bundle. Furthermore, the sheet steel element may comprise a drawing projection in the form of a rib on one face and a corresponding recess on the opposite face.

This previous construction, in addition to presenting the same drawback of using a metal sheet with rubber pads, also suggests the use of steel sheets extending in the whole length of the pair of spring blades in which they are mounted, thus considerably increasing the construction costs of the spring bundle and unnecessarily increasing the final weight of the latter.

Disclosure of Invention

As mentioned above, due to the drawbacks of the known solutions, the present invention aims to provide an anti-noise element which is structurally simple, relatively low cost, presents a simple and safe assembly in a layered spring bundle and presents a longer service life compared to the known constructive solutions.

Drawings

The anti-noise element of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of one end of a typical leaf spring bundle provided with an anti-noise element according to the invention positioned between the ends of each two adjacent leaf springs;

FIG. 2 shows an isometric exploded perspective view showing the end of a spring plate and a corresponding anti-noise element according to the first embodiment, and to which the anti-noise element is to be placed and held;

FIG. 3 shows an isometric perspective view of the anti-noise element according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the anti-noise element, taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3 and showing the anti-noise element mounted between two adjacent spring strips shown in cross-section;

FIG. 5 illustrates an isometric perspective view of an anti-noise element constructed in accordance with a second embodiment; and

fig. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the anti-noise element according to the second embodiment, the view being taken along the line VI-VI in fig. 5 and having the anti-noise element mounted between two adjacent spring plates shown in cross-section.

Detailed Description

As previously mentioned and as shown in the figures, the present anti-noise element EAR is positioned between the ends of each two leaf springs LM of a spring bundle FM which is formed by a set of leaf springs LM and which is commonly applied in the suspensions of vehicles and road tools. In the illustrated configuration, the spring pieces LM have different lengths, but the spring bundle FM may be formed using spring pieces LM having the same length. Spring strips LM are mounted one above the other, with or without retention elements ER with alignment function as known in the art.

It should be understood that the term "leaf spring" defines not only a leaf spring operating as a suspension spring, but also a possible safety leaf spring which is arranged in the lower region of the spring bundle and which does not operate as a suspension spring but as an additional safety element in the event of a break in the spring bundle, which safety element may comprise one or more suspension leaf springs.

According to the invention, each anti-noise element EAR comprises a metal plate 10 made of steel or any suitable alloy, having a variable profile, which may be polygonal, circular or oval, the maximum width of which is adjusted to the overall width of the spring bundle FM, which is provided or not with a retaining element ER retaining it, and which has an extension in the length direction of the metal plate approximately equal to the width of the metal plate, and which is sufficient to prevent direct contact between the overlapping ends of two adjacent spring strips LM.

In both illustrated embodiments, each metal plate 10 has a thickness less than the thickness of the leaf springs LM, typically less than half the thickness of the adjacent leaf springs LM, each metal plate 10 being covered with a coating 20 in the form of a layer of thermoplastic resin called polyamide 11, the thickness of the coating 20 ranging from 0.01mm to 2.00mm according to the dimensional characteristics of the leaf springs LM that will employ the spring bundles FM of the anti-noise element EAR.

The coating 20 is defined with the application of a thermoplastic resin defined by polyamide 11, by impregnation or any other suitable process, allowing to obtain an anti-noise element usable for any type of spring bundle FM, which is easy to construct and assemble, has competitive costs and presents superior durability compared to the solutions currently known. The coating 20 is partially shown on the anti-noise element EAR (see fig. 2, 3 and 5).

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, in the first embodiment, the anti-noise element EAR may be defined by a metal plate 10 having the width, length and thickness dimensions as defined above and containing an intermediate protuberance 12, which in the illustrated construction is defined by an intermediate pull 11, said intermediate protuberance 12 being designed to be fitted and retained against displacement in a respective hole F provided in the end of a spring plate LM against which the anti-noise element EAR is seated and retained.

In the example of fig. 3 and 4, the intermediate piece 11 produces an intermediate protuberance 12 defined by a pair of parallel ribs 12a, spaced apart and arranged along the longitudinal direction of the bundle of springs FM, said protuberance being intended to be fitted into the hole F of the end of the respective leaf spring LM, so as to ensure the correct and safe positioning of the anti-noise element EAR in the bundle of springs FM.

Fig. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the anti-noise element EAR, which exhibits the same features as described above with respect to the first embodiment shown in fig. 3 and 4 and bears the same reference numerals as the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, the metal plate 10 includes a flank 15 in each longitudinal edge thereof, which is disposed against the adjacent side edge of the spring piece LM located immediately above or below in the spring bundle FM. In fig. 6, only the flanks 15 of the metal plate 10 are shown resting against the side edges of the spring plate LM located directly above. It should be understood, however, that the metal plate 10 can be mounted in an inverted position with respect to the position shown in fig. 6, the lateral wings 15 of said metal plate resting against the lateral edges of the spring strips LM located directly below. Thus, in the construction proposed herein, in which the metal plate 10 comprises the lateral wings 15, the retention element ER shown in fig. 1 can be completely or partially removed from the spring bundle FM.

In the first and second embodiments, preferably the whole metal plate 10, including the intermediate bulges 12 and possibly (eventual) flanks 15, is covered with a coating 20 of polyamide 11, so as to avoid any direct metal contact between the anti-noise element itself and two adjacent spring strips LM.

Although only two embodiments of the anti-noise element of the invention are presented here, changes can be made to the shape and arrangement of the constituent parts of the anti-noise element without departing from the proposed constructive concept.